Astros’ bats powerless as Buehrle tosses 2-hit shutout

TORONTO – Erik Bedard gave the Astros five more strong, smooth innings.

Four remained, though. And with the veteran lefthander at just 95 pitches and the Astros in a winnable road game down just 1-0, it was soon 4-0 Blue Jays on Thursday at the Rogers Centre.

Mark Buehrle threw a two-hit, complete-game shutout for Toronto.

The Astros (34-67) are just 1-6 since the All-Star break and 5-20 in their last 25 games.

An underperforming Toronto (46-55) team expected to compete for the American League East title won for the first time in eight contests and claimed its lone victory since the break.

A matchup of baseball’s worst team against the game’s most disappointing team produced an old-school pitching duel through five innings, with two 34-year-old crafty lefthanders trading strikeouts as off-balance hitters constantly swung early or through well-placed offerings.

Buehrle didn’t allow a hit until Justin Maxwell singled to center field with two outs left in the fifth. Bedard struck out six through five frames, while walking one and giving up just three hits.

He threw 6 1/3 innings of no-hit ball last Saturday during a home loss to Seattle, removing himself from the game as a preventive measure after throwing 109 pitches.

But Bedard never made it to the sixth Thursday, with the Astros turning the ball over to starter-turned-reliever Lucas Harrell. Meanwhile, Buehrle kept firing, striking out a season-high nine while only allowing one extra-base hit.

Toronto regularly blasted Bedard’s off-speed material into the stands behind third base. But the Blue Jays didn’t officially make a real connection until Edwin Encarnacion slammed a 79 mph curve off the right-field wall. The double scored Jose Bautista, who drew a two-out walk, and gave Toronto a 1-0 fifth-inning lead.

Harrell gave up back-to-back walks to start the seventh. An RBI double by Adam Lind followed and a sharp two-run single to center field by Macier Izturis turned Toronto’s three-run seventh into the Astros’ 67th defeat.